Way back in that long
ago October, when I was first starting out, (and let me re-iterate here, I am
by no means declaring that after three years I know all there is to know about this
crazy writing world, or am an expert on marketing, or any other aspect of being
a professional author) I finished my first manuscript, and started a new one
right away while I tried to figure out what to do with my baby.
I started with some of
my favorite ebook publishers.
Read their submission
requirements, which were written, btw, with a lot more tech savvy individuals
in mind than I was then. I reformatted to the best of my ability, labored over
synopsis and summary, and query letter and …
Paid attention to that
little phrase "We do not accept simultaneous submissions."
So, being the law
abiding, rule following sort who can get lost finding my way out of a paper
bag, I sent it to one publisher at a time.
It took six weeks to
find out that the first publisher wasn't interested. I moved on to the next
publisher on the list, and finished my second manuscript. I started the third,
as it was a second book in a series.
Six weeks later, I'd finished first drafts for two more books in my series, and hadn't yet heard back from the second publisher
about my first story.
I started looking for a
third choice, and you know what? Almost all of them had variations in how they
wanted material submitted. But they all had that little phrase, "No
simultaneous submissions." Then, I decided to explore other options for my first book while I focused on the second, third, etc. I decided to self-publish
my first book (oy, Lessons learned there, in a separate post, coming along one
day.) in order to move on with the publication process on my series.
And I made a few other
decisions too.
- I formatted my documents in Times New Roman,
size 12 double-spaced. That is a perfectly legible font used frequently in
academic circles; it's easily read, and when submitting, for consideration,
that OUGHT to be the publisher's sole guideline. (Why? Because if a publisher
is going to nitpick the use of font, hidden formatting objects, and so on…then
they may not have the flexibility to work with the directions I wanted to
pursue…which didn't always fall strictly in the boundaries of what was
"right".)
- I sent my submission to as many
publishers as I wanted to, all at once. (Why? Because it's my right to do so as
an author. I don't have to sit back and wait, subbing consecutively just
because the publisher says so. Publishing isn't a one sided activity. I could be
sitting here, sending out A Beautiful Silence every six to eight weeks, three
years later, one publisher at a time, letting them decide before I moved on.
You don't have to do that. In truth, I seriously doubt if until this moment,
any of the publishers even knew that I sent Keeping House to six publishing houses
at once.)
- The publisher is a partner in your book –
not your boss. Seriously, he's making money off your work. Don't be so thrilled
to be offered a contract that you forget that you are THE KEY ELEMENT to the
success of the venture.
Now, those were all
decisions I made without experience, no contacts, no real knowledge of the
ebook publishing industry. Since then, I've learned a bit.
For instance…You know
why each publishing house has its own little nit-picky guidelines for how they
want your submission formatted?
Because then they can make it harder for you to send a
blanket submission. In the long run, while you will have to change all your
tabbed indents to automatic, and your font to whatever they prefer, the fact
is, that is something that can be fixed in minutes
during your first round of edits or even pre-edits. Adjusting the formatting to
house standard ought to occur after acceptance. It just makes more sense,
doesn't it?
Why would they want it to be harder for you to send a
blanket submission? Because then you are more inclined to cheer and cry in
delight and accept that contract they offer you. Because let's face it, if you
have to receive a contract, then sub again, then wait six weeks to get two
offers to compare? That's not going to happen. Odds are, you're going to accept
that first offer, and it might take a few before you realize there might just be
something better out there.
You see, like a lot of people, publishers want the option
of accepting or refusing you. They have hundreds
of submissions, and they want to choose the ones they think will sell best. They
want the power position.
You
don't have to give it to them. By sending your ms to a variety of publishers,
you share power. You are choosing, not just waiting to be chosen. You have the
option of looking at contract terms and publishers and deciding which one you
want to work with.
The publisher isn't your boss. He's your co-worker, your adviser, your partner. He may have a contract for your work, but he doesn't own
it. Don't think you have to accept everything he says as a mandate from heaven.
The bottom line is you can get your book out there
without a publisher. Without an author, a publisher has nothing to sell.
